20 teams. 180 riders. 44 nationalities. As you would expect, the Tour de France field is a strong one. Just 14 riders in the field have won stages here before - there are sure to be some new names to add to the list. And perhaps, a new winner?
The big head to head: Angel Madrazo vs Damiano Cunego. Their current career head to head is Cunego 2, Madrazo 0 - but theyve only met in 2011, at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Tour of Lombardia.
Cunego is unbeaten in ManGame Grand Tours - 5 Giro wins in a row, including 19 stage wins! But he has never ridden the Tour de France. Madrazo has, taking 28th on debut last year. Besides Madrazo though, Ventoso is the only Santander rider to have ridden the Tour de France before - and that was in 2007. Look for him on the bumpier sprint stages - Corsica perhaps - while Cafe de Colombia provide a team more experience of the race. Sebastian Ivars has ridden it the last 3 years - best finish of 32nd - while Perez Sanchez finished 17th back in 2007. Both will be a key support for the Cunego-dominated squad.
Angel Madrazo is the form rider - he won the Vuelta a Espana in style, with 6 stage wins, while Cunego was 4th in Liege. Ventoso has a Tour of California stage to his name, while Banos Ballester scored victory in 2 Giro stages.
Stats on the right are number of TDFs entered, and best finish position.
1. D. Cunego
2. J. Arango
1
168
3. J. Baños Ballester
4. A. Brea
1
154
5. S. Ivars
3
32
6. D. Montoya
7. E. Orozco
8. F. Perez Sanchez
2
17
9. M. Rubiano Chavez
1
92
Santander
11. A. Madrazo
1
28
12. A. Galdos
13. A. Hernández Gutierrez
14. P. Merino Criado
15. D. Ortega
16. J. Rienda Segura
17. R. Serrano
18. R. Valls
19. F. Ventoso
1
83
What about the former winners of this race? Moreau has retired, while Frank Schleck and Devolder are not riding this year - but this leaves 2010 winner Markus Fothen and defending champion Simon Spilak. Until June the season had not been great for either. Spilak took 16th in the Tour of Romandie, while Markus Fothen disastrously crashed out of the Giro. But the tide has turned! Spilak won the Dauphine and Fothen came 2nd overall in the Tour de Suisse - can their form continue?
The support teams for the pair of them are not great on the climbing front. Barredo and Talabardon will provide some support for Spilak, but Morabito will be the limit of Fothen's climbing team - will this hinder him late on in the mountain stages? Festina perhaps hope for some action on the flat though, with rouler Steurs, and sprinters Lavoine and Holloway. Can Bernaudeau make it to the finish of the race on his 3rd attempt?
Festina
41. M. Fothen
3
1
42. M. Bernaudeau
2
43. D. Drapac
44. D. Holloway
45. A. Lavoine
2
136
46. S. Morabito
1
82
47. V. Reynès
1
129
48. R. Sentjens
49. G. Steurs
1
133
Warner Bros
51. S. Spilak
2
1
52. C. Barredo
3
18
53. A. Castro Rodriguez
54. G. De Winde
55. J. Flecha
2
98
56. I. Mayo
1
6
57. T. Pinto
58. C. Rojas Villegas
1
93
59. Y. Talabardon
2
30
Onto the rest of last year's podium. Thomas Dekker has always ridden strongly here, if not always with luck. He has led the race a number of times, and taken a total of 6 stage wins - with 2011's 2nd Overall being his best result to date. Spyker really need a big result from him and Pecharroman heads up a solid support for him. Victory in this year's Tour of Romandie showed us what he can do.
Jaroslav Popovych was a bit of a surprise package at last year's race. Averaging 10th overall for 3 years running, he stepped up in 2011 and made use of great recovery skills to deliver a podium performance. Can that be repeated? He finished 10th in this year's Vuelta, but did suffer some crashes along the way. All of Wiggle's squad have already ridden a Grand Tour this season - although Caruso only completed 1 day of the Giro - with Scarponi and Costagli looking to complete all 3 GTs. Cataldo will hope to deliver after a crash-marred Giro, and can Luke Rowe refind the sprinting form last seen at the 2011 Giro?
Spyker
21. T. Dekker
4
2
22. L. Bak
2
76
23. F. Bellotti
3
50
24. S. Cohnen
1
94
25. J. Fuglsang
1
66
26. E. MartÃnez de Esteban
2
56
27. J. Pecharroman
4
14
28. D. Teklehaimanot
29. A. Zeits
Wiggle
61. J. Popovych
4
3
62. I. Bibby
63. D. Caruso
64. D. Cataldo
1
34
65. T. Costagli
66. T. Kritskiy
67. A. Kunshin
68. L. Rowe
69. P. Scarponi
Another big name to watch is Aleksandr Pluchkin of Team B&O. Still yet to podium here, and that is surely his minimum target - along with adding to his record of 3 stage wins. He has certainly shown progression over the years: from 12th, to 7th, to 4th. Support comes from Grivko, Hacecky and Guldhammer on his TDF debut. Vanoverschelde for the sprints maybe? He won't like Corsica. Pluchkin has been immense this season - Romandie aside. Oman? Victory. Catalunya? Victory. Suisse? Victory.
B&O
31. A. Pluchkin
3
4
32. A. Grivko
1
26
33. R. Guldhammer
34. M. Hacecký
1
32
35. D. Klemme
2
39
36. M. Reckweg
37. T. Riber-Sellebjerg
38. K. Vanoverschelde
1
39. T. Vinter
Young gun Taylor Phinney leads Wikipedia here, and the Time Trial World Champion will hope to build on his 7th overall last year - there is plenty of time trial kilometres to work with, and a maillot jaune opportunity early on. 2nd in Romandie and 1st in California this year showed what he can do - as did a podium spot in the Dauphine. Also here for Wikipedia is Matt Goss - after taking 2 Giro stage wins earlier in the season.
Wikipedia
71. T. Phinney
1
7
72. J. Casper
73. R. Cleaver
74. M. Goss
1
133
75. C. Mai
1
79
76. C. Meier
1
62
77. T. Pinot
78. M. Sprick
4
38
79. D. Summerhill
2
88
Andrei Amador is showing signs of developing into a strong GC contender. 3rd in Romandie was followed by 5th in the Giro d'Italia including a stage win in the Mountain Time Trial. Florentino Marquez is likely to provide good support aswell.
UBS
81. A. Amador
1
73
82. M. Albasini
83. D. Champion
84. K. Lalouette
85. F. Marquez
86. C. Riblon
1
51
87. J. Tschopp
2
64
88. S. Zahner
89. O. Zaugg
2
39
Rigoberto Uran had a spell in the Maillot Jaune last year, and would love to repeat that. 5th overall is surely a target to repeat aswell, amongst strong competition. Vesuvio won the Giro teams classification and were 2nd in the Vuelta, thanks in part to Mwangi Samwel, who will complete the set here. Also in board is Tour of Qatar winner Ben Swift. His first TDF - can he score TDF stage wins despite no obvious sprint train within the team? Uran's form is 2nd in Oman, with the Mountain stage win, and 8th in Romandie. The Dauphine was a warmup act for him, and he will need to step up from his June performances.
91. R. Úran
1
5
92. C. Betancourt
93. B. Gastauer
94. J. Hoogerland
95. D. Medvedev
1
48
96. D. Mehr-Wenige
1
122
97. M. Paterski
98. M. Samwel
1
40
99. B. Swift
Another team to mix GC and sprint aspirations are Nestle - with Karpets for GC and Lo Cicero for Sprints. A Top 10 may be the best hope for Karpets - although if his Romandie form is repeated, 4th place there bodes well. Record TDF stage winner Tom Boonen - 12 stage wins - is not here.
The other inactive Portugese team are Webeffect. Andrei Kashechkin is the only rider here to have ridden in every previous ManGame TDF - and that record will continue. 5th his 2010 being his best result. He was 2nd in California. Avelino may well be a sprinting threat, and its interesting to see 2 Iranians giving a shot at the highest level.
Under pressure to perform are Carmeuse - with relegation worries very much the case. Fabian Cancellara has 6 stage wins here over the years and is always a strong asset, while this may be a year too soon for Taaramae. To finish in the Top 10 would be a success, but confidence will have grown after he took 5th at the Dauphine. South American pure climbers Solis and Suaza are often good value. But where is Theo Bos!?? He will be sadly missed.
Carmeuse
121. R. Taaramäe
1
12
122. S. Caethoven
2
136
123. JF. Camier
1
120
124. F. Cancellara
4
50
125. R. Di Gregorio
3
33
126. J. El Fares
127. J. Libert
128. O. Solis
4
42
129. J. Suaza
2
44
A Tour de France debut for Sony Ericsson leader Yuri Trofimov - after he took 6th in last year's Vuelta. He lacks the mountain skills to last the 3 weeks at the top, but if Corsica was designed with one particular rider in mind, surely it was Trofimov? This year's Paris-Nice winner will be an interesting variable, that's for sure - although he has started July slowly, being beaten by teammate Van der Hugenhaben in the Classique du Grand-Duche. Granjel Cabrera is also a handy sprinter.
Sony
131. Y. Trofimov
132. L. Fernández Oliveira
1
49
133. R. Granjel Cabrera
1
117
134. C. Meyer
1
170
135. D. Muravjev
136. S. Pauwels
137. M. Reihs
138. R. van der Hugenhaben
1
24
139. M. Öste-Macdonald
1
76
A Tour de France stage win to his name, 13th overall last year and 6th in this year's Giro - Sergio Luis Henao Montoya is a name to watch as Milka make their Tour de France debut. Guiding the team here are three ex-B&O riders: Kreuziger, Bouet and De Gendt, while its a 3rd GT for Forero. Will we notice him this time?
Milka
141. S. Henao Montoya
1
13
142. M. Bouet
3
90
143. L. Bret
144. T. De Gendt
2
87
145. J. Forero
1
165
146. L. Howard
147. R. Kreuziger
3
61
148. Y. Nepomnyachsniy
149. A. Nepomnyachsniy
Pendleton's make their Tour de France debut with a rider as leader who is untested at this level aswell - Dan Martin. 11th in Catalunya, 11th in Romandie and 13th in Suisse have led him to this point - how will he respond to the pressure of a 3 week race? Siutsou hasnt ridden here since 2008, but will definately provide good support - while Deignan has been a consistent Irish presence in the TDF peloton recently.
Pendleton's
151. D. Martin
152. S. Cummings
1
99
153. P. Deignan
3
48
154. S. Duret
155. J. Ji
156. M. Ladagnous
157. R. Margaliot
158. F. Mourey
159. K. Siutsou
2
41
Another man set to test out his Grand Tour credentials for the first time is Peter Velits, for Pearl Adidas. 3rd overall in California was a positive sign, but his 15th at the Tour de Suisse may be a more realistic indicator. Perhaps he can draw inspiration from the strong GT riding by teammate Machado. French sprinter Romain Vanderbiest will be desperate to take his first TDF stage win, at the 4th attempt.
Pearl
161. P. Velits
1
49
162. E. Berthou
2
94
163. J. Guarnieri
164. L. Mondory
165. Y. Offredo
2
106
166. P. Panayotov
1
29
167. J. RodrÃguez
1
53
168. R. Vanderbiest
3
110
169. J. Vastaranta
1
91
Along with Santander, the most inexperienced lineup in the race - but Michael van Stayen does like Grand Tours. 2 stage wins in last year's race, plus 2 in this year's Vuelta. 10th in Oman is Martijn Keizer's best GC result so far this season and he may struggle to shine amongst this field. Bacardi do already have a GT win to their name though!
Bacardi
171. M. Keizer
172. I. Abakoumov
173. G. Bagdonas
174. J. Ghyselinck
175. D. Grabovski
176. S. Pardilla
1
59
177. M. Perget
178. F. Terciado
179. M. Van Stayen
1
122
Jayco - Red Bull are the continental wildcards and a worthy representation of the continental division - being one of the leading contenders for promotion. Their team is perhaps not ideally built for GTs but they will surely have the support of the French supporters who - with no fully french team to identify with - are sure to latch on to the bandwagon with French champion John Gadret, riding his 5th Tour and hunting for a 5th stage win. A podium repeat from 2009 is unlikely though. Calzati and Moinard also no doubt helped earn the squad a wildcard, with Daryl Impey may be an outside threat in the hilly sprints.
Red Bull
181. J. Gadret
4
3
182. S. Calzati
3
17
183. J. Giaux
1
146
184. D. Impey
185. A. Moinard
2
41
186. D. Moreno
187. M. Priamo
188. G. Veloso
189. KS. Wu
Finally, Jack Wolfskin. Gesink doesnt seem to like GTs, and there is no TTT here, so Jack Wolfskin will have to fight hard to make an impact. Sylvain Chavanel is one of the better hopes for a French stage win - he won Fleche Wallone afterall, while Ardila took 12th overall at this year's Giro.
Grand Depart - Corsica
There's no easy week for the sprinter's as the race opens in Corsica - it's first ever visit to the island that has entered into cycling in recent seasons through the hosting of the Continental HC race the Corsica International. Sprinters may have hopes for Stage 1, but there is an uphill kick there, and despite being nominated as flat, the second stage into Bonifaccio has a whole lot of climbing. The first of three Individual Time Trials in the race is next - in a slightly weaker time trial field. The World Champion is here, but many others are recovering from other Grand Tours where TTTs were present. And the Corsican adventure ends in a nasty hilly stage. Theres certainly potential to leave Corsica having had 4 different Maillot Jaunes.
From Le Mans to the Puy de Dome
Stage 5 ends in Tours, and as you would expect, is a proper sprint stage. But organisers may be surprised to have attracted such a sprint field here when you see that Stage 6 is another uphill sprint finish. The Mythical Puy de Dome is back on the calendar for Stage 6 - the first chance for us to see who is climbing on top, as the contenders go to battle amongst the narrow roads of the climb. Stage 8 to Lavaur being one for the sprinters.
The Pyrenees
Stage 9 is an 'easy' start to the Pyrenees. The Pic de Nore is climbed, but there is a sizeable descent afterwards. A breakaway may fancy their chances, or perhaps a sprinter can haul themselves over the climb? Let's hope that if sprinters are dropped, their GC riding teammates won't drop back to help them! But then for the real climbing. Dont let the short stage length deceive you, Stage 10's Bagnères-de-Luchon - Col de Portet route is a killer. Col du Peyresourde, Col d'Azet, Col d'Aspin, Hourquette d'Ancizan and the summit finish at Col de Portet. Nobody wants to have a bad day here! Theres 4 more tough climbs to follow on Stage 11 with Col de Marie Blanque, Col de Soudet, Col de Bagargui and the Pic de Beilurti. No summit finish today though!
Transition into the Alps
The Pyrenees have shook things up by now for sure, and so Sigean and Arles host two flat stages to calm the peloton down. The sprinters will be keen for the opportunities, but will their teams want to be chasing down the breaks? Because the 5 stage Alpine assault is set to begin afterwards, starting with a hilly route in to Mont Colombis. The Col d'Izouard welcomes the peloton to the Alps on Stage 15, before the race's 3rd summit finish at Col du Parpaillon. Then the second individual time trial from Gap to Orcières-Merlette - with elements to favour the pure time triallists, and the climbers.
Race Finale
5 stages to go! Two mighty climbs are ready on Stage 17 to celebrate that fact. The Madeleine and the Galibier are on hand to create some gaps, but can they be maintained on the descent before the final uphill kick into the town of Briancon? That descent takes a different look on Stage 18, the Queen stage of the race, as the Galibier is climbed in reverse - not as the main event, but only the start! Next up is the Col de la Croix de Fer and finally, the Alpe d'Huez. Normally that would be it? But oh no! Its off to the Col de la Sarenne, back down the mountain to Bourg d'Oisans and time for Alpe d'Huez take 2! The Tour de France will surely be won and lost today.
A bumpy ride to Gap follows on Stage 19 before the second time trial of the race to start in Gap. Heading to Sisteron, this is much flatter than the previous Gap time trial, and longer too. 50km infact! The Tour could still change hands at this late stage, before the overnight flight to Paris for the traditional Champs Elysses finish.
Vesuvio have really started to pull away in the rankings now and will expect to outscore Pearl Adidas here - Santander may be the last remaining threat, if Madrazo can really shine.
Whats really interesting is the battle from 4th down to 15th - a gap of just over 800 points. Its so very close, and with so many ranking points up for grabs, there is a lot at stake over the coming 3 weeks of racing.
And then theres the relegation battle - currently 4 teams battling to avoid the drop, but 3 of them must go - unless they can use the Tour to get out of their position. Cafe de Colombia and Warner Brothers are a long way down - but Cunego and Spilak are title contenders. Spyker have Dekker aswell, so the pressure is really on Carmeuse.
Riccardo Ricco continues to lead the individual rankings, but puncheurs Bakelandts and Schleck are closing in. The Tour de France will surely change the race lead though - Madrazo in particular is very well placed.
I am most definitely looking forward to this! Great preview, and definitely the pinnacle for the man-game season. I was a bit surprised with some of the start lists though. Should be an interesting race!
Indeed a great preview, and it's SO close. I'm just 165pts away from 4th, which will have to be my season target.
It will be very difficult though, as Fothen is alone here in the mountains. Top 10 must be his goal, while I hope my sprinting team can achieve something, though I doubt it.
I fear that I will be overtaken by some of the lesser positioned teams, which would be bad...
This is, on paper, a GREAT race to watch. Hoping for no bad crashes to GT contenders (And Fothen obviously!). Great preview here SN, and may the best man win!
Here as wildcards on the biggest stage - whilst the rest of the team have been working their asses off gaining CTour points pushing for promotion Gadret has not been that great.
Still this is what his comeback from a year out was all about, one last shot at glory in the Tour. A top 10 on GC or a stage win is my minimum target, it would be nice to have a go at the mountains jersey too.
By far and away the best grand tour of the season on paper in terms of unpredictability, route and startlist. The others were still excellent to follow so expectations here are super high!
------------------------------------------------
A decent tour for Dekker and a super tour by Cunego would really shake up the relegation race - it is so tight between the teams from 4th through to 15th, suddenly things like stage wins become more and more relavant in a big race like this. The opening stages here could well be worth 100 - 110 points for taking a stage win, thats a pretty decent haul.
tyriion wrote:
Looking forward to this. Especially the sprints, as they seem a bit weak compared to the rest.
Actually, this is about as good as it's gonna get in the Pro Tour.
Ben Swift
Matthew Goss
Michael van Stayen
Romain Vanderbiest
Dan Holloway
Francisco Ventoso
Luke Rowe
Ivano Lo Cicero
Oscar Avelino
Raul Granjel Cabrera
Juan Pablo Forero
Anthony Lavoine
Kobe Vanoverschelde
Daryl Impey
Jimmy Casper
Cameron Meyer
Anthony Jose Brea
Steven Caethoven
Michel Kreder
We lack:
Tom Boonen
Jurgen Roelandts
Sam Bewley
Jaime Alberto Castañeda
Oscar Guerao
Matt Rowe
So we have a very broad pack of quality sprinters, while only Boonen, Roelandts and Bewley will be missed imo. Most teams have a capable sprinter or even two here, so it will be very interesting to see whether or not attacks will come from those teams, or what will happen.
Amazing preview, amazing startlist.
I am really looking forward to reports, the race should be great and i will watch closely all the Ukrainians participating. Good luck to all the managers involved.
Fantastic preview, great job SN. Can't wait for our first Tour de France. A top 10 would probably be a bit too much but I'm gonna ask for it anyway. At least our first GT stage win would be good though. Bring on Corsica!
This is going be awesome for the persons not involved in the Tour but enjoining the reports. Otherwise I bet it will be stressful as hell, especially those teams close to the bottom. Epic preview SN, very much looking forward to the first reports. Good luck guys
That was one of the best previews I have ever seen, amazing work SN. Good luck to everyone, as a spectator I just hope for an exciting race from start to finish.
Edited by Mresuperstar on 10-04-2012 11:53
1. Damiano Cunego
2. Angel Madrazo
3. Simon Spilak
4. Taylor Phinney
5. Thomas Dekker
6. Markus Fothen
7. Aleksandr Pluchkin
8. Jaroslav Popovych
9. Rein Taaramae
10. Rigoberto Uran
